This invention relates to electrical connectors, and particularly to the type used in computers and similar electronic equipment.
In a variety of electronic applications, electrical connections must be made between one or a group of components, such as a circuit board, with one or a group of different components, such as a power source, a data bus, or the like. Commonly, these connections are not made directly between the components, but rather an intermediate connector is interposed between the components, usually the electrical connection between the components and the connector has been accomplished by some form of mechanical spring force between exposed contacts.
Until recently, such spring loading of the contacts was reasonably cost effective and posed few problems. As the size and/or complexity of circuit components and their associated printed or etched circuit conductors shrink, however, the size of the contacts for interconnecting components has also decreased. As the contact width of the electrical conductors and the spaces between the conductors drop below about 0.025 inch and now approach the range of 0.002-0.005 inch, known spring biased connectors cannot be effectively used. The forces required to make a mechanical spring connection between micro chips or miniature circuit boards cannot be provided by the small cross section of the contacts. The result is that a single chip must be mounted in a lead frame or similar device to provide expanded circuit paths and spaces, then the expanded paths must be connected to still another circuit board to expand the spacing enough to communicate with other devices and peripherals.
Another problem encountered not only with small multi-conductors but in larger ones as well, is the difficulty of assuring that all individual contacts associated with a given connection, are properly engaged and in intimate contact for efficient electrical conduction. Known connectors typically rely on rigid mechanical interaction between the connector and the conductors. This results in a wide variation in the force available for engaging individual contacts on the conductors.
Even in connections between single strand conductors, only a portion of the available contacting surfaces are actually mated, the rigid mechanical connector typically producing a distribution of point or line contacts rather than the desired intimate mating of the full contact surfaces.